Swedish born artist José Gonzáles is about to take America by storm. His debut album Veneer has been a hit in Scandinavia since 2003 and is currently riding the charts in the UK. José Gonzáles is not all hype and marketing magic as his official bio proudly boasts. Veneer is warm and organic, employing the delightful simplicity of a voice and a classical guitar. The album’s trademark is its eccentricity, drawing from both bossa nova and traditional folk roots.
Veneer begins with “Slow Moves,” a testament to Gonzáles’s notable guitar skills. José’s droning, mellow voice is the perfect counterpart to his feverish guitar picking. Gonzáles has been likened to British folk legend Nick Drake; the comparison is most valid in this opening track. The sometimes strong resemblance is not meant to relegate José Gonzáles to a copycat; it is only that Gonzáles has managed to capture something similar to Drake’s Pink Moon, something shadowy and intriguing.
Veneer’s second track, “Remain,” takes the album in a completely different direction than the aforementioned song. This is where Gonzáles’s bossa flavor spices up the album in a way that’s reminiscent of Latin greats like Jose Feliciano and Joao Gilberto. José’s message is straightforward in this tune, “We’ll remain after everything’s been washed away by the rain, we will stand upright as we stand today.” These are the only lyrics and they are repeated frequently for effect, yet there is no sense of lacking. Lyrical sparseness is common throughout Veneer; José Gonzáles is never verbose.
Veneer maintains perfect symmetry between a tremendous sense of musicianship and poetic beauty without being pretentious or complex. This is the magic of Veneer. “Crosses,” epitomizes this songwriting philosophy. Beginning with a guitar intro that chimes in and out of effortless bass notes, “Crosses” says everything that it needs to say without saying too much. Gonzáles sings of offering someone help by shedding light into their world. “Crosses all over, heavy on your shoulders/ The sirens inside you waiting to step forward/ Disturbing silence darkness your sight/ We’ll cast some light and you’ll be all right for now.” The song is soundtrack worthy, making an appearance on the last season finale of the OC.
As a whole, Veneer is comfortingly traditional, yet wild. Minimalism is its mantra, proving to be a soothing listening experience. There’s nothing quite like the unadulterated sound of buzzing frets and the occasional palm slapping against a guitar. However, Veneer is anything but boring, reeling listeners in with gentle elements of folk then twisting and turning with passionate crescendo’s and Latin zest.
José Gonzáles made his Philadelphia debut in March opening for The Books. He’ll be back on July 1st, sharing a bill with South American songstress Juana Molina at the World Café.
Loading ...
May 20th, 2006 at 3:54 pm
I really dig this. His voice goes so well with his concept.
December 13th, 2006 at 12:21 am
Wow Jose has blown our southern socks off. And man is he hott too! AWESOME performer!
December 13th, 2006 at 12:24 am
Beautiful music…………Pure beauty for us lost souls bring the light on home jose!